Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the seven research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$236.88.

L has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$210.00 to C$253.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$195.00 to C$245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$208.00 to C$234.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$200.00 to C$220.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Loblaw Companies from C$215.00 to C$234.00 in a research note on Monday, April 14th.

Insider Activity at Loblaw Companies

In other Loblaw Companies news, Director Willard Galen Garfield Weston sold 104,364 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$182.50, for a total transaction of C$19,046,690.91. Also, Senior Officer Jeffrey Francis Leger sold 2,000 shares of Loblaw Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$227.50, for a total value of C$455,000.00. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 157,380 shares of company stock worth $29,526,299. Company insiders own 53.77% of the company's stock.

Loblaw Companies Stock Performance

Shares of TSE L traded down C$1.57 during midday trading on Monday, reaching C$212.99. The company had a trading volume of 475,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 424,556. The business's 50-day simple moving average is C$205.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$191.46. The stock has a market cap of C$64.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17. Loblaw Companies has a 1 year low of C$152.39 and a 1 year high of C$229.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 166.11.

Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.513 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. Loblaw Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.83%.

About Loblaw Companies

Loblaw is one of Canada's largest grocery, pharmacy, and general merchandise retailers, operating the most expansive store footprint in Ontario and maintaining sizable presences in provinces like Quebec and British Columbia. Key grocery banners include Loblaw, No Frills, and Maxi, while its pharmaceutical operations are the product of its 2014 acquisition of Shoppers Drug Mart.